Unison
has accused councils of hypocrisy following a spate of large pay rises for
leaders while a six per cent rise for staff was rejected.
Recent
pay awards for senior local government figures include a rise of around £30,000 to £130,000 a year
for the chief executive of Sheffield City Council, with increases of around
£10,000 to salaries approaching £100,000 for other senior officers.
Similar
pay rises have been offered to the chief executive and senior members at East
Riding Unitary Council.
These
rises are set against the backdrop of the sector’s annual pay claim for 1.2
million local government workers. Employers have offered only half of the union’s
six per cent demand.
"This
is hypocritical. At the same time as they are paying these big pay rises, they
have made an absolutely tiny offer of 3 per cent to some of the lowest paid
workers in the country," said a Unison spokesperson.
